This invention relates generally to portable electrical energy sources, and more specifically relates to the use of such sources for charging and maintaining the charge of portable rechargeable batteries of the type now widely carried by individuals to provide power for portable electronic devices such as games, cell-phones, health maintenance devices and the like.
Various arrangements and apparatus for charging small portable batteries are well known in the art and have been in general use for many years. The types of battery chargers that have been in general use for this purpose customarily obtain electrical energy from household or industrial sources such as wall receptacles and heavy-duty power generators powered by solid or liquid fuels. Other types of battery chargers use relatively large stored-energy sources such as automobile batteries that are coupled to the smaller batteries through automotive electrical connectors (for example, “cigarette-fighter-type” receptacles). Some experimental applications have used small linear-motion generators carried by various kinds of wildlife to power animal telemetry devices, using energy derived from the random movement of the animal.